Back on Top: Vermont Hoists Fay Vincent Sr. Cup After Topping Mystic in Extras, 3-2
Published on August 14, 2015 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) News Release
GROTON, Conn. - After splitting the first two games of the 2015 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) Championship Series and then waiting a subsequent day thanks to a rain delay, Mystic and Vermont returned to the diamond for the third and decisive game of their best-of-three series, but in the end, the Mountaineers would prevail, 3-2, in 10 innings to claim the franchise's third league title and the right to raise the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup.
After the Schooners (31-18) rallied for two runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at 2-2, neither side would score through the next four innings to send the contest to extras. And in the top of the 10th, the Mountaineers (31-18) manufactured the only run they would need before stranding the tying run at third base in the home half of the inning to seal the league championship.
With one out and nobody on, second baseman Garrett Copeland (Austin Peay) singled to put the Mountaineers in business. A subsequent single by designated hitter Kevin Stypulkowski (Maine) made it a first-and-third, one-out situation. That set up the title-clinching sequence.
With runners on the corners, Vermont catcher Ridge Smith (Austin Peay) laid down the suicide squeeze bunt that would bring in the winning run. A fielding error kept Smith aboard a groundout in the following at-bat put two more runners in scoring position, but Mystic avoided further damage with a fly out to left, as the game headed to the bottom of the 10th with the Schooners needing a run or more to stay alive.
Right-hander Sam Delaplane (Eastern Michigan) came out of the bullpen for the Mountaineers; the San Jose, California, native finished the regular season with 10 saves and was looking for his third of the postseason. After inducing a fly out to center for the first out, Mystic first baseman Daniel Hoy (Princeton) reached on an error before a fantastic defensive effort by Vermont first baseman Joe Dudek (Kentucky) put the Schooners on the brink. Foy would steal third and get the tying run within 60 feet, but Delaplane induced a popup to first to clinch the Mountaineers' third league title and first since winning back-to-back in 2006 and 2007.
Vermont reliever Teddy Rodliff (Stony Brook) was brilliant in four innings of relief and earned the win to improve to 1-1 on the postseason. The southpaw allowed no runs on one hit and no walks while striking out four. Jason Foley (Sacred Heart) took the loss for Mystic, falling to 0-1 in the postseason. He tossed 3-2/3 innings of relief, surrendering one earned run on three hits and one walk. He struck out seven.
The Mountaineers took a 1-0 lead in the first and scored again in the fifth to go up 2-0, but the Schooners tied the game with two runs on two hits in the bottom of the fifth, as a Vermont error - one of five on the night by the visitors - led to a pair of unearned runs for the home side.
After Mystic handed the Mountaineers a 14-6 thrashing in Game 1, Vermont rallied from a game down in the best-of-three series, edging the Schooners, 5-4, at Montpelier Rec on Monday night before Wednesday's series finale. It marked the first time since 2010 that the deciding game of the NECBL Championship Series was decided by a single run (Aug. 8, 2010: North Shore 5, Danbury 4).
Vermont manager Joe Brown capped off an incredible coaching year, grabbing his second title of 2015. With the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons, Brown led the team to the school's first ever Division-III College World Series title. After guiding the Mountaineers to a 31-18 overall record, he became the first manager to win an NECBL Championship with two different franchises. Brown also hoisted the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup with Sanford in 2008.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from August 14, 2015
- Back on Top: Vermont Hoists Fay Vincent Sr. Cup After Topping Mystic in Extras, 3-2 - NECBL
- 2015 Ocean State Waves Season in Review - Ocean State Waves
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